Welcome to L.A. TACO’s daily news briefs, where we bring our loyal members, readers, and supporters the latest headlines about Los Angeles politics and culture. Stay informed and look closely.
—Craft cannabis growers in California, primarily those with smaller harvests that tend to be more invested in quality than quantity, are frustrated by regulations requiring volume-focused distributors to act as middlemen for retail sales, along with the attached fees running from 10%-22% in some cases. “We’re stuck in this crazy situation where we’re legally mandated to work with distributors, and we’re not even going to be able to get distribution,” says That Good Farm owner Tamara Kislak, who helped found the direct-to-consumer site MendocinoCannabis.Shop. [Cannabis Business Times]
—L.A. mansion owners are trying to offload their properties before a 4% transfer tax on property sales over $5 million, and a 5.5% tax on properties over $10 million goes into effect this Saturday, April 1. Some sellers are dropping prices dramatically and "even throwing in a free McLaren or a Bentley with a purchase." [KTLA]
—Pico Rivera: Thirteen-year-old Annahi Tejeda, missing from her Pico Rivera home for several days as a search was conducted, has been found alive just a few miles from her address at the home of a stranger. The girl disappeared last Wednesday night after fighting with her mom about a cell phone. A witness saw the girl leaving a detached garage on Sunday, where an adult male was also present and arrested on an unrelated charge. [NBC]
—Adidas has retracted its opposition to Black Lives Matter using a three-strip design for its logo. The sneaker company, which was founded by members of the Nazi party and was slow to cut ties with anti-Semitic rapper Kanye West, had earlier asked the U.S. Trademark Office to reject an application by BLM for a trademark featuring three parallel stripes, claiming it violated its trademark. According to a source, the company withdrew the request over concerns that it would be perceived as not being supportive of Black Lives Matter. [Reuters]
—Lancaster: After stealing a CHP cruiser while its driver was conducting a traffic investigation, a man was pursued by police cars until one of his back tires was popped by a spike strip. While traveling around 70 miles an hour on Highway 138, the man opened the driver's side door and leapt from the speeding vehicle. He was later declared dead at Antelope Valley Hospital. [LA Daily News]
—Woodland Hills: 30-year-old Joel Ravin's dead body was discovered in his burning Chevy van yesterday at the Mulholland Trail on Alhama Drive in Woodland Hills. Witnesses claim they saw a black vehicle leaving the scene around the time they detected the fire, while investigators suspect foul play due after detecting the presence of an accelerant. [NBC]
—President Joe Biden and The Department of Homeland Security recently proposed a rule to drastically limit access to asylum for anyone traveling through another country to reach the U.S. border. Al Otro Lado argues that the rules if adopted would violate both U.S. law and its obligations under international treaties, as well as "replicate one of our greatest moral failings as a nation. [Al Otro Lado]
